Bobbin magazine for weft replenishing looms



Nov. 30, 1948. R. G. TURNER 2,455,149

l i B-OBBIN MAGAZINE FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Filed June 28, 1947 .2'Sheets-Sheet `l 26 INVENTQR R10/1A R0 6.Y TUR/v51? 6%, www

ATTORNEY NOV. 30, 1948. R, G TURNER 2,455,149

BOBBIN MAGAZINE FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS ,Filed June 28, 1947 2Sheets-Sheet 2 R10/4A R0 '6. TUR/VER .ATTORNE Patented Nov. 30, 1948BBBIN MAGAZINE FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Richard G. Turner, Worcester,Mass., assgnor to Cromptont Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass., acorporation of Massachusetts Application June 28, 1947, Serial No.757,875

7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in weft replenishing looms and itis the general object of the invention to provide an improved reservebobbin magazine.

The diameter of the weft wound on the reserve bobbins in a weftreplenishing mechanism may be larger than, equal to, or smaller than thediameter oi the bobbin butts. Furthermore, in the weaving of certaintypes of fabrics it is not permissible to have knots or the like in theweft because of blemishes which they would produce in the iinishedfabric. When the yarn breaks during the winding of a bobbin to be usedin the weaving of such fabrics the bobbin is removed from the windingmachine and sent to the loom, even though the bobbin be only partlywound. Under such conditions the magazine will contain bobbins some ofwhich are fully wound and others of which have only a short mass of weftthereon. The full and partly wound bobbins, regardless of their weftdiameter, will not stack properly, vand the upper bobbins will havetheir tips so far below their butts that they fall outof the magazine.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a bobbinmagazine withv readily adjustable guideways for both the butts and tipsof the bobbins so that by a simple manual operation the weaver canadjust the widths of the guideways to a condition which will enable thebobbins to lie substantially horizontally and therefore feed downwardlytoward transfer position without falling out of the magazine. Thus, ifseveral partly filled bobbins are in the magazine the tip guideways canbe made narrow to raise the tips and prevent objectionable tilting ofthe upper bobbins.

Since the bobbin conditions change from time to time as new bobbins areplaced in the maga-zine it is desirable that the widths of the guidewaysbe readily adjustable, and it is a further object of the invention toaccomplish this result by means of yielding locks which can be movedquickly and easily to alter the widths of the guideways.

In the weaving of fabrics requiring two shuttles a rocking magazine maybe employed which can be shifted to place the lowest bobbin in either ofthe two bobbin stacks in transfer position. This requires a pivot forthe magazine and also generally requires that the outer or bobbin tipengaging plate of the magazine be supported from the inner or buttengaging plate of the magazine. When magazines of this type are madelarge enough to accommodate a considerable'number of bobbins it is foundthat the outer plate tends to vibrate,V and to correct this condition itis a further object of the present invention to provide anti-vibrationguides, such as rolls, positioned to engage the inner plate of themagazine.

It is occasionally desirable to be able to effect slight adjustments inthe vertical position of the magazine and to accomplish this result itis a iurther object of the present invention to form the aforesaid pivotof the magazine as an eccentric to enable the magazine to be raised orlowered to place the bottom bobbins in transfer position correctly withrespect to the shuttle on the lay. Any horizontal displacement of thelower end of the magazine caused by adjustment of the eccentric can becorrected by adjustable stops which determine the two extreme angularpositions to which the magazine can be swung.

With these and other objects in View which will appear as thedescription proceeds, my invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of myinvention isset forth,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of the forward part of aloom equipped with `a'rnagazine made according to the present invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevation of the magazine looking in thedirection of arrow 2, Fig. 1,

Figs.y 3 and 4 are side elevations, partly. in section, looking in thedirections of arrows 3 and ll, respectively, of Fig. 2, Fig. 3 beingenlarged, y

Fig. 5 is an enlarged horizontal sectionon line 5-5 of Fig. 3 showingthe adjustment for one of the butt guideways, ,l

Fig. 6 is an enlarged horizontal section on line 6-6 of Fig. 1, showingthe adjustment for one of the tip guideways,

Fig.l '7 is an enlarged vertical section on line 1 1, Fig. 2,.

Fig". 8 is a Vertical section on' line 8 8, Fig. 7,

Fig. 9 is an enlarged vertical section on line 9-9, Fig. 3,

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view showing the normal relation of bo-bbinbutts and tips whenthe bobbins are fully wound, the weft and buttdiameters being the same,

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic front elevation of a magazine containingpartly filled bobbins as they appear before adjustment ot the tipguideway, and

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 11 but showing the bobbin tips raisedsubsequent to reduction in the width ofthe tip guideway. l

Referring to Fig.Y the loom frame lo has down their respective front andback guideways by gravity toward transfer positions, one at the bottomof each of the bobbinstacks, as will be apparent in Fig. 3, to permit yatransfer arm i to transfer the bobbin under it in transfer position intoone or the other of two alternately active shuttles only one of which isshown at S. The shuttle when at the replenishing end of the loomoccupies shuttle box 2I on lay L.

The bobbins have butts or heads 22, a mass of yarn Y, and tips 23. Thelower part of the yinner plate I4 is provided with a spacer lug 2 5which separates the lowest bobbins of the'two stacks,

and front and back bobbin butt: supports 26 and 21, respectively, may bemounted in usual manner to yield whenever the lowest bobbin in theassociated guideway or stack is being transferred. In similar manner,the tips of the bobbins may be held by yielding supports 28 and 29mounted pivotally on the outer magazine plate I5.

The magazine is'ordinarily at rest inthe position shown in Fig. l, butcan rock about stud I2. When a, replenishing operation is to occur themagazine will remain in its normal position if the .rear lowest bobbinB' is to be transferred, but if the lowest bobbin B is to be transferredthe magazine will be rocked. The rocking mechanism includes a rod 30pivotally connected'to plate I4, a second rod 3| operated by theshifting shuttle box motion (not shown), and a bell crank lever 32.

Except as indicated hereinafter the matterthus far described may be ofthe usual construction and operates in the usual manner. I

As already stated, the magazine can operate with various types ofbobbins which, because of the diameter of their yarn masses or amount ofyarn thereon, may not stack properly or feed properly down theirguideways toward transfer position. The yarn diameter may begreater orless than the butt diameter or equal toit, and the bobbins may be eitherfully wound with weft extending practically the Vfull length thereof, oronly partly wound. The magazine may thusbe supplied with an assortmentof bobbins, some full and others only partly full. If alarge number ofpartly full bobbins are present the tip ends of the upper bobbins willslant downwardly far enough so that they can roll out of the magazineand with such a group of bobbins it will be desirable to make the tipguideways narrow. If the yarn ldiameter is less than the butt diameterit will then be additionally; desirable to Awiden the butt guideways. l

lln order to adapt the lmagazine for proper operation with these varioustypes of bobbins I make each of the guideways adjustable as to width.Considering the forward butt guideway I6, for instance, the innermagazine plate I4 is formed with an integral flange or wall for theright hand parts of the bobbin butts in the left stack as viewed in Fig.3, and the lower left part of guideway I6 may also be defined by asecond integral flange or wall 36. The upper left hand part of theguideway, however, is formed by a plate I5 vto define the bobbin tipguideways.

4 movable wall 31 the lower end of which is pivoted as at 38 to theplate I4.

The upper part of the movable wall 31 is held in position byA meansshown more particularly in Fig. 5. Th'eplate I4 is provided with ahorizontal slot 46 and a series of holding teeth 4I on the inner or lefthand side thereof, as viewed in Fig. 2. rThe wall 31 has a flange 42lying fiat against the surface 43 of plate i4. Bolt 45 passes throughthe flange 42 and slot 40 and has .its outer end surrounded by acompression spring 46 located in the cylindrical shell or cup 131 of ayielding lock or holding member G8. The latter has teeth 49 which arenormally urged into holding relationwith teeth 4I by the spring.

The movable back wall 50 for the rear guideway I1 is similar to the wall31 except that its pivot 5I is lower than pivot 38. It is also heldadjust/ably in position by mechanism similar to that shown in Fig. 5.

In like manner, the outer magazine plate I5 yis provided with adjustablefront and back walls and 5G, respectively, to cooperate with flanges orwalls 51 and 58, respectively, integral with The walls 55 and 56 arepivoted as at B0 and have bolts 6I, see Fig. 6, provided with the samecharacter of fittings shown in Fig. 5 and passing through slots 52 inplate l5.

From the matter thus far described it will be apparent that each of theadjustable Walls 31, 50, 55 and56 can be moved readily from one positionto another merely by movement of the `adjustable clamping or lockingmembers 48 in directions to release teeth 49 from teeth 4I. After thewalls have been moved to their new positions the members 48 can bereleased, whereupon their springs will reengage teeth 4I and 49 to holdthe movable walls in their adjusted positions.

' lDiagrammatic Fig. 10 shows the normal arrangement of the bobbins whenthey areall fully wound and of a given weft diameter, as for instancewhen the latter equals the butt diameter. Both the butt and tipguideways. will be flared so that their walls diverge upwardly to permitthe bobbins to be staggered to prevent rolling due to loom vibration. Ifthe bobbins should not all be fully wound, and two of them have shortmasses of weft as in Fig. 11, the top bobbins will be tilted and willtend to fall out of the magazine.

Under these conditions the tip guideway will be too wide, and itsmovablewall will be moved toward the xed wall, thereby causing the tips to riseas they come more nearly into vertical alignment. The bobbins will thenbe in positions such as shown in Fig. 12, and will be in proper positionfor correct downward feeding.

A similar adjustment can be made if4 the yarn diameters are larger thanthe butt diameters and some of the' bobbins are only partly wound. Ifmovement Aof the adjustable tip wall does not give all the correctionneeded the movable butt wall can be moved away from its xed wall. Theseadjustments can be made even if the yarn diameter equals the buttdiameter, provided some of the bobbins are only partly full of weft.

It will therefore be seen that full and partly wound bobbins can beplaced in the magazine stacks in any order and the movable wallsadjusted to effect substantial horizontal alignment of the bobbins.These adjustments are able to move the bobbins as described due to thefact that the butt and tip guideways are normally flared upwardly, thuspermitting adjustment of aries-,149

the 'movable walls toward their xed walls.

The inner and 'outer magazine plates are held together by a brace '65having feet 66 secured tothe plates' and joined by a horizontal sectionBf! the length of' which determines the distance between the magazineplates. The feet are suitably secured to their respective places as at58 so that the outer plate I5 derives its entire support from the innerplate I4.

The second feature oi the invention relates to steadying or vibrationpreventing means for 'the magazine. As shown-in Figs. 3 and 7, themagazine support il is provided with two antivfibration members lo madeas shown in Fig. 8. E'ach support has a shank threaded into the 'supportH and held in adjusted longitudinal position bya lock nut 1l. The end ofeach member Til adjacent to the inner magazine plate I4 is provided witna ball 12 which bears against an antifriction plate 73 secured to themagazine plate and rolls freely in its socket t9 when the magazinerocks. These members 10 are located a considerable distance below thepivot stud l2 and vwhen properly set to engage plate 'I3 preventobjectionable vibration of the magazine, par-- ticularly the outerplate. Obviously other forms of anti-friction devices than the balls 'l2can be utilized, but whatever form the members 10 take the magazine whenrocked incident to a replenishing operation will be caused to move witha minimum 'of twisting, and the lowest bobbins B and B will be parallelto the shuttle box 2i.

The rod 3u is connected to the magazine at a point not far removed fromthe steadying members 'lo and this relationship results in propermovement of the outer magazine plate I5 when the magazine is rocked. Aspring 'M acts to return the magazine to normal position subsequent toswinging by rod 30.

IThe third feature of the invention relates to the vertical adjustmentof the magazine. As shown in Fig. '7, support Il is provided with astopping lug 'i5 which is adapted for engagement with one or the otherof the front and back stop screws 16 and l1, respectively, which aremounted on the inner magazine plate i4. These screws are adjustable soas to determine the correct transfer positions of the lowest bobbins inthe front and back stacks.

The previously described stud I2 has a shank 3Q rockable in the hub I3and has an eccentric end 8| passing through a hub 82 on the insidemagazine plate lll. Nut 84 clamps the hub 82 against shoulder 85 of studl2 and lock nut 86 holds the setting. The nuts when loosened permitturning of stud l2 so that the eccentric 8l can cause rising or fallingof the magazine as a whole. As shown in Fig. 9 the magazine is in itslowest position adaptable to small weft diameters, but the magazinewould be raised to provide added clearance if large diameter wefts arewound on the bobbins. If there should be any back and forth movement ofthe magazine due to turning of the eccentric the adjusting screws 'i6and 'Il can be altered to locate the lowest bobbins in the magazinecorrectly for transfer.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a magazinewherein bobbins of various amounts of weft wound thereon can be alignedso they will remain in the magazine and feed downwardly in their stackstoward transfer position. Any one of several assortments of bobbins canbe placed in the guideways at random and when so placed the movableguideway walls can 6 be adjusted as described to establish thefwfidthsof the guideways best suited' to the bobbins. While the movable-guidewaywalls have been described in connection with a particular kind ofholding device, such as the members 48, I do not wish necessarily thusto' be limited, since any,7 suitable holding means by which theIadjusted widths of the guideways may be retained will serve thepurposeof the present invention. It will also be noted that the. steadyingmembers 'lill are adjustable toward vand from the magazine and are at aconsiderable distance below the pivot stud l2 and not far from thepointr at which a turning force `is applied to the magazine by rod 30.Wear plate 'i3 is not essential but is desirable. Also, the eccentricstudV iZpermits a'vertical adjustment of the magazine with respect totheshuttlebox, and the adjustable stop screiilsv 'i3 and 'VI affordcompensation for' any back and forth misplacement of the lowest bobbinsin the magazine resulting fromv adjustment of the eccentric. i v

Having thus described my invention it will be `seenthat changes andmodicationsmay be'made therein by thoseskilled in the art withoutdepart'- ing from thespirit and scope of the invention and I do no wishtobe limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

l. In a weft replenishing mechanism provided with bobbins which feed bygravity toward a transfer position'a guideway on said mechanism for thebutts of -the bobbins, a guideway on said mechanism for the tipsy of thebobbins, and means associated with each guideway for increasing ordecreasing the width thereof to permit bobbins in said guideways havingvarying amounts oi weft wound thereon to assume substantially horizontalpositions.

2. In a weft replenishing mechanism provided with a stack of bobbinswhich move by gravity toward a horizontal transfer position, means onthe mechanism dening a guideway for the butts of the bobbins, -othermeans on the mechanism dening a guideway for the tips of the bobbins,and adjusting means by which the width oi each guideway may be variedindependently of fthe width o-f the other guideway for the purpose ofcausing bobbins having unequal amounts of weft wound thereon and whichwould normally be objecti-onably inclined to move toward horizontalpositions.

3. In a weit replenishing mechanism operating with a plurality ofbobbi-ns which move by gravity toward a horizontal transfer position, awall permanently attached to said mechanism and forming one side of abobbin butt guideway, a movable wall adjustably mounted on saidmechanism forming the other side of said guideway for the butts of thebobbin, a second wall permanently connected to the mechanism forming oneside of the guideway for lthe tips of the bobbins, and a second movablewall adjustably mounted on said mechanism forming the other side of theguideway for the tips of the bobbins, said ad-Y justable walls beingcapable independently of each other of assuming a plurality of positionswith respect to their corresponding permanent walls to the end thatbobbins in said guideways having varying amounts of yarn wound thereonand normally tending to have the tip ends below their butt ends may becaused to move toward horizontal posit-ions.

4. In a weft replenishing loo-m operating with a plurality of bobbinshaving varying amounts of weft wound thereon and all movable toward ahorizontal transfer position by gravity, two walls permanently xed withrespect to the mechanism and forming one side each of a bobbin buttguideway and a bobbin tip guidevvay, and two other Walls forming theother sides of said butt and tip guideways mounted for movementrelatively` to the permanently xed Walls corresponding thereto andindependently of each other to the end that the widths of both guidewaysmayr be adjusted for the purpose of causing said bobbins to move frominclined positions toward horizonltal positions.

\ 5. In a weft replenishing mechanism operating with a plurality ofbobbins having unequal amounts of weft wound thereon and tending to moveby gravity toward a common horizontal position, .two permanently xedwalls on the mechanism, one for a bobbin butt guideway and the other fora bobbin tip guideWay, an adjustable wall on the mechanism for eachguidevvay,

and readily releasable manually operable holding means for eachadjustable wall whereby the latter can be moved relatively to thecorresponding permanently fixed Wall for the purpose of readily varyingthe relative widths of said guideways .to the end that the Ktip ends ofthe bobbins can be raised relatively to their corresponding butt ends.

' 6. In a Weit replenishing mechanism provided with bobbins which feedby gravity toward a transfer position, a guideway on said mechanism forthe butts of lthe bobbins, a guideway on said mechanism for the tips ofthe bobbins, and adjusting means by which the width of the bobbin tipguideway can be reduced to raise the tips of the bobbins when some ofthe latter are fully wound with weft and others are partly Wound withweft.

'7. In a weft replenishing mechanism provided with bobbins which feed bygravity toward a .transfer position, a bobbi-n butt guideway havingwalls normally diverging upwardly, a bobbin tip guideway also havingWalls normally diverging upwardly, said Walls normally causing thebobbins to -be staggered relatively to each other, and means to adjustthe Width of each guideway to the end that the width of the bobbin tipguideway can be reduced if some of the bobbins are `only partlyrw'oundwith weft and the Width oi.' the bobbin butt guideway can be increasedif the diameter of the yarn is less than the diameter of the butts.

RICHARD G. TURNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,381,796 Turner Aug. 7, 19452,391,602 Turner Dec. 25, 1945 2,437,627 Turner Mar. 9, 1948

